Valve-closing means.



F. HIRSCHFELD & R. HARBURGER.

VALVE CLOSING MEANS.

APPLICATION HHED MAYI Patented May 25, 1915.

LBQQFBQL 1 Q I I THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTC'LITHOH WASHINGTON, D. C.

FRANCIS HIRSCHFELD AND RICHARD HABIBURGER, OE CLEVELAND, OI-IIO.

VALVE-CLOSING MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915,

Application filed May 1, 1914. Serial No. 835,696.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, FRANCIS Hmsorr- FELD and RICHARD HARBURGER, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, state of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Valve- Closing Means; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

lhis invention relates to improvements in valve-closing means, and pertains more especially to valve-closing means comprising a weight employed in effecting or facilitating the valve-closing movement of a valveoperating lever.

One object of this invention is not only to have the valve-operating lever normally in position to begin its valve-closing movement and to employ lever-operating means for effecting said movement but to have said lever-operating means comprise a normally el vated weight, a lever-striking device and a connection between the leverstriking device and the weight; to have said lever arranged between the weight and the leverstriking device; to have said lever-striking device detachably connected to a suitable support so as to hold the weight in suspension; to have the lever-striking device normally held spaced from the outer or free end-portion of the lever and arranged to permit descent of the weight upon being released from the aforesaid support and to move when thus released toward said portion of the lever during the descent of the weight and strike against the lever in the direction required to positively start or facilitate the aforesaid movement of the lever regardless of any tendency of the valve operatively connected with the lever to stick to the valve-casing, and to have the weight free to descend by gravity during and upon the movement of the lever-striking device into striking contact with the lever.

Another object is not only to have the weight attached to a suitably guided cable at one end of the cable but to have the cable connected at its other end to the aforesaid lever-striking device and to have the leverstriking device detachably connected by a calorically fusible member to a substantially vertically arranged post which is formed on a stationary bracket and projects loosely through said fusible member so that said fusible member must be moved vertically upwardly as desired from said post.

Another object is to prevent detachment of said fusible member from said post except by fusion of said fusible member or by vertically elevating said fusible member above said post.

WVith these objects in view, and to the end of attaining any other advantage hereinafter appearing, this invention consists in certain features of construction, and combinations and arrangement of parts, hereinafter described, pointed out in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, largely in section, of valve-closing means embodying our invention, and in this figure the valve-lever is in position to be actuated in the direction required to close the normally open valve operatively connected with the lever. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, largely in section, of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. l and shows the valve closed. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 33, Fig. 1.

Referring to said drawings, A indicates a valve-casing adapted to form a member of a pipe-line employed in supplying gas, steam or other fluid to a building, and a indicates a horizontally arranged fluid-conducting passageway in the valve-casing.

13 indicates a vertically movable suitably guided valve for obstructing continuity in said passageway when required, as, for instance, in case of fire, which valve is arranged within the valve-casing and normally in its upper and open position and operatively connected by a link 6 (shown in dotted lines) with the arm 5 of a horizontally arranged shaft C which is supported from the valve-casing and operatively provided externally of the valve-casing with a valvelever 6 for rocking the shaft and thereby efiecting actuation of the valve.

In the normal and open position of the valve the lever 6 extends laterally and upwardly, as shown in Fig. 1. Said lever is therefore normally in position to begin its valve-closing movement and arranged to be swung downwardly in a vertical plane to effect said movement, and the outer or free end-portion of the lever is provided with a hole 7 which extends through said portion of the lever substantially concentrically of the axis of the lever.

A vertically movable weight D which is held in suspension in its elevated and normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, is employed in positively effecting the valve-closing movement of the lever 6, and in said position the weight is arranged at the under side of the outer end-portion of and in contact with the lever when the lever is in its normal position, shown in Fig. 1, so asto prevent the lever from making its valve-closing movement independently of the descent of the weight. The weight D is attached to one end of a cable cl which extends from said weight to and through the hole 7 in the lever and thence laterally in a substantially horizontal plane toward a vertically upwardly projecting post or member 6 with which a stationary bracket E is provided at a substantially horizontally arranged upwardly facing shoulder or seat 8 formed on the bracket which is shown supported from the valve-casing. The cable (Z is connected therefore at one end to the weight D at the under side of the lever and has its weightconnecting portion depending below the outer end-portion of the lever, and a leverstriking device consisting of clamping members G and H is attached to the cable at the other end of the cable,that is, at the opposite side of the lever,and normally held spaced from said end-portion of the lever, as shown in Fig. 1, and arranged to permit descent of the weight upon being released and to move when released toward said portion of the lever during the descent of the weight and strike againstthe lever in the direction required to facilitate the valveclosing movement of the lever and cooperate with the cable in forming a connection between the weight and the lever and insure starting of said movement of the lever regardless of any tendency of the valve to stick to the valve-casing, and the weight is free to descend by gravity during and upon or after the movement of the lever-striking device into striking contact with the lever. As shown, the cable-clamping members G and H clamp the cable between them and are removably secured together by a screw 10, and one of said clamping members, viz., the clamping member H, is provided with an arm h which projects toward the post 6, and a calorically fusible link or member L is removably secured by a screw 12 to the arm h and connects the lever-striking device and connected cable to said post.

Preferably the post 6 extends vertically upwardly through the fusible member I which preferably surrounds said post, and a block or yoke J is mounted on the seat or shoulder 8 and has an opening 13 spaced upwardly from the lower extremity of the yoke and extending laterally through the yoke and around the post 6 and therefore arranged to accommodate the connection of the fusible member I to the post 0 during ranged in linevertically with the hole 15 and engaged by the upper end of the post a. The relative arrangement of the parts is preferably such that the weight is arranged normally in suspension at one side of the axis of the lever 6 and the post 6 is arranged at the opposite side of said axis. observed therefore that the yoke J surrounds or embraces the post 6 above and below the fusible member I so that said fusible member can not be displaced upwardly from said post independently'of the yoke and can not become detached from said post except by fusion thereof or by elevating the yoke far enough to lift said fusible member above said post. The yoke J is attached in any It will be approved manner to a suitably guided cable 7 T K extending upwardly from the yoke. The cable is employed in elevating the yoke J the distance required to detach the leverstriking device from the bracket E. WVe would here remark that if, for instance, the valve-casing were arranged in a closed chamber (not shown) below the level of a sidewalk extending along the front of a building supplied by gas or other fluid conducted through the passageway a, the cable K- would lead upwardly to the upper end of said chamber and there would be accessible, upon opening a door or coverat which access is had to said chamber, to a fireman for device being normally held spaced from said portion of the lever and adapted upon'being released to move toward said portion of the lever and strike against the lever in the di rection. required to facilitate the aforesaid movement of the lever and cooperate with the aforesaid connection informing a connection between the weight and the lever, and the weight being free to descend by gravity during and upon the movement of.

the lever-striking device into striking contact with the lever.

2. In valve-closing means, a valve-operat ing lever arranged to be swung in a vertical plane and normally in position to begin its downward and valve-closing movement, which lever has its outer end-portion provided with a hole which extends through said lever substantially concentrically relative to the axis of the lever; a weight; a lever-strikin device, and a cable connecting the lever-striking device and the weight, the lev r being arranged between the weight and the lever-striking device, the cable extending loosely through the aforesaid hole, the lever-striking device being normally held spaced from the aforesaid portion of the lever and adapted to move when released toward and strike against said portion of the lever, and the weight being free to descend by gravity during and upon the movement of the lever-striking device into striking contact with the lever.

3. 1n valve-closing means, a valve-operating lever arranged to be swung in a. vertical plane and normally in position to begin its downward and valve-closing movement; a bracket provided with a post; a calorically fusible member detachably connected to and removable upwardly from the post; a weight: a lever-striking device attached to the fusible member, and a suitably guided cable which is connected at one end to the weight and at its other end to the leverstriking device, the lever being arranged between the lever-striking device and the weight, the lever-striking device being normally spaced from the lever and adapted to move into striking contact with the lever upon disconnection of the fusible member from the post, and the weight being free to descend by gravity during and upon the movement of the lever-striking device into said contact with the lever.

Al. In valve-closing means, a valve-operating lever arranged to be swung in a vertical plane and normally in position to begin its downward and valve-closing movement; a bracket provided with a post; a weight; a lever-striking device; a suitably guided cable which is connected at one end to the weight and at its other end to the leverstriking device; a calorically fusible member detachably connecting the lever-striking device to and removable upwardly from the post, and a yoke embracing the post below and above the fusible member and adapted to be elevated far enough to detach said fusible member from the post, the lever being arranged between the lever-striking de vice and the weight, the lever-striking device being normally spaced from the outer end-portion of the lever and adapted to move into striking contact with the lever upon disconnection of the fusible member from the post, and the weight being free to descend by gravity during and upon the movement of the lever-striking device int said contact with the lever.

5. In valve-closing means, a valve-operating lever arranged to be swung in a vertical plane and normally in position to begin its downward and valve-closing movement, which lever has its outer end-portion arranged laterally of and above the axis of the lever in said position of the lever; a weight; a lever-striking device, and a connection between the lever-striking device and the weight, the lever being arranged between the weight and the lever-striking device, the weight being arranged in its normal position at the under side of the aforesaid portion of and in contact with the lever, the lever-striking device being normally held spaced from said portion of the lever and adapted upon being released to move toward the lever and strike against the lever in the direction required to facilitate the aforesaid movement of the lever and cooperate with the aforesaid connection in forming a connection between the weight and the lever, and the weight being free to descend by gravity during and upon the movement of the lever-striking device into striking contact with the lever.

In testimony whereof, We sign the foregoing specification, in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS HIRSCHFELD. RICHARD HARBURGER.

WVitnesses B. C. BROWN, VICTOR G. LYNCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

